Dennis43 - I actually dated a man who, when the name Dahmer came up in conversation because of something in the news (1992 I think) said something to the effect that he had probably just been practicing S&M and went to far, while a professional would know when to stop. I didn't ask what kind of professional, as we were passing a MUNI tunnel. I suddenly had an urgent need to talk to the station attendant about how to get home. And try out that route. A lot of people would start conversations with me with comments about Dahmer such as "Where he went wrong was..." or "I can see how that would turn a guy on..." As a result I dated no one for the first years of college. There was some huge discovery about Dahmer that for some reason all the sickos I knew wanted to talk to me about. One thing I can say is very different about Michael Jackson as opposed to Jeffrey Dahmer is at least Michael's victims are alive and fairly well off. No, that doesn't make up for what happened to them but...wouldn't the world be a wonderful place if all the victims of molestation were to become rich because of it? I mean, if you're already a victim why not get money for the trauma? Before anyone blasts me for this, I'd be richer than Michael Jackson was if that were true

Self proclaimed king of pop (never that much into pop by the way). It was a loss and there are two sides to every story. Hell, to his I heard there were at least 43 sides to that story...oh yeah 44....have to hear his side too officer. I mean, sure he had faults and all but he did make some good videos and that one he never completed with his hair on fire would have been the best!So...what's up with that?

The families of most criminals fight harder than anyone else to see his good side. "I know what he did to all those kids, but he could DANCE!Uh...just a second...what did he do again? THAT'S why he didn't have that money!" made up quote from when his family was so angry because he couldn't or wouldn't pay the rent on the family residence. The real bitch of this is that he affected so many lives with his music that most people just looked past everything else. True, he had serious psychological problems and yet he was STILL allowed to have kids sleep over at Neverland? They used to dance in their underwear for him, and so did he. One kid whose parents were paid off did a few interviews before he paid them. The child was ill,they all were, and his parents took all the money, no trust fund. Farrah Fawcett...she was beautiful, she was talented and she was the beginning of my body image crisis! Most beautiful woman I had ever seen at the age of 6, thank God I was shielded from her again until my teens but the world will miss her. I also seem to remember a joke about a pill box he had with certain amounts of medication he had to take when a celebrity died to upstage them. Upstaging Farrah Fawcett in death! Honestly, he knew at this point he would die poor. He may have also figured out that once a celebrity like him (or Elvis who btw sold less than him) died his music would sell like hotcakes! He may have done it in a last ditch attempt to pay off his debts and provide for his children.

I'm so relieved to see this thread on a team where I can let my hair down and where people actually get my sarcasm. Here goes:

My first thought was "He couldn't even let Farrah have her day?". My roommate started crying - he's 50 and black and has followed his whole career. All I could think about was the fact that Jackson molested a number of children and got away with it.

Or did he get away with it? I'm not sure I can think of a better punishment that having to live with the shame and scorn of so many of us who are absolutely convinced of his guilt. Given that he was likely going to die anyway, this was probably a better punishment than putting him in prison. There is a karmatic justice not to his death, but to what happened in his life for these last four years.

That said, he really was a brilliant singer and performer. He changed the face of music, and that won't change no matter what.

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